Island Lake Camp News

Category Archives: Parent News

Hey ILC Parents! We hope you and your children had a fun-filled, safe Halloween filled with enough candy to last them a lifetime. We also hope your children SHARE all of their scrumptious treats with you!

All of us in the ILC winter offices are very excited for our CAMP REUNION on November 17th at Sportime USA in Elmsford, NY. The reunion will be held from 10am until 1pm and details are provided in all of our monthly newsletters since the summer. We look forward to seeing many of our campers and staff at our reunion that day, no RSVP necessary.

By now all of our ILC summer 2018 parents should have received an email from us with the link to our Island Lake Video Yearbook online. We hope you and your children have taken the opportunity to “chillax” with a bowl of popcorn to watch this amazing video filled with many exciting summer activities and memories. For under an hour you can forget about the real world and truly feel a part of the ILC experience.

Are your kids still sharing their wonderful ILC memories with you? We sure hope so! Our summer 2019 countdown is in full swing, as camp will sneak up on us before we know it. As of November, 1st, only 240 days until Opening Day at Island Lake! In the meantime, you and your children can continue to view our daily summer photos, weekly videos, blogs, as well as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram posts from this past summer. We continue to post throughout the year on our blog as well as our Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts so be sure to check them all out and “like” us.

Registration for summer 2019 is going very well thus far. If you have not yet registered your children for next summer, please don’t put it off any longer! We truly do not want to turn away our loyal campers. You can enroll your children with the registration form we mail home with your monthly newsletters or you can download the form here on our website under “Island Lake Families” and then “Forms & Mailings”.

Well, that’s about it for now. We are sooooo excited and cannot wait to see many of our Island Lakers at our camp reunion on November 17th. Until then, ILC U THERE!

Hey Island Lake Parents! With fall upon us, we hope your children are still sharing tons of wonderful ILC memories with you. Our summer 2019 countdown has already kicked into gear- 271 days as of October 1st! Next summer will sneak up on us before we know it. In the meantime, you and your children can continue to view our daily summer photos, weekly videos, Facebook videos, & daily summer blogs for several months to come.

Shortly, all our 2018 camp families will receive info regarding viewing our Island Lake Video Yearbook online. We hope you and your children will enjoy watching this amazing video filled with so many fond memories of this summer past. For 45 minutes you can forget about all that’s going on around you, sit back, relax, and enjoy being taken back to summer so you can truly feel a part of the ILC experience.

We are all getting pumped up for our CAMP REUNION on Saturday, November 17th at Sportime USA in Elmsford, NY. The reunion will be held from 10am until 1pm and details are located in our monthly newsletters. We look forward to seeing many of our summer 2018 campers and staff there, no RSVP necessary.

We are happy to announce that camp is filling up very nicely for next summer. Be sure to register your children right away if you have not already done so. Certain bunks are already full in specific sessions! You can sign up your children with the registration form we mailed home with your newsletter or you can download our form here on our website under “Island Lake Families” and then “Forms & Mailings” to your left.

Well, that’s about it for now. We wish everyone a safe and spook-tacular Halloween at the end of the month. Until then, ILC U THERE!

It was with great sadness that we bid farewell to our ILC family on August 11th. We truly enjoyed spending an AMAZING summer with all of our campers and staff. Was summer 2018 the best because of our incredibly awesome counselors? Was it because we had the greatest group leaders, department heads, and head counselor ever? Was it our fantastic teen trip to Toronto and Niagara Falls? Could it be because of the fun theme days and evening activities such as Counselor Switch Day, the Hoedown, and Revival Night? Or was it because we had the coolest, happiest, most amazing campers ever? We are sure it was a combination of all of these things that made this summer so special. One thing we can tell you with all sincerity is that this was one of our BEST ILC SUMMERS YET!!!

We’d like to thank you for your wonderful emails, phone calls, and letters regarding this past summer. These gracious gestures mean so incredibly much to us as camp directors. Now go get a pen and paper to save the date for our annual camp reunion, which will be held on Saturday, November 17th at SportimeUSA in Elmsford, NY. Details are in our September newsletter and we hope our campers and many of our staff can join us for this special day of fun.

Registration for Summer 2019 has exceeded last year’s enrollment at this point in time. We are thrilled to know that we had so many happy campers with us this past summer. Due to the school calendar dates in the northeast, camp will begin on Saturday, June 29th, our changeover day will be on a Saturday, July 27th, and closing day will be on a Saturday, August 17th. Our Open House will be on Saturday, June 15th, our Rookie Day will be offered on Saturday July, 13th, and our annual Visiting Day will take place on Saturday, July 20th.

Remember; take advantage of our early rates! If you have not yet registered your child, please do so immediately! All you have to do is fill out your 2019 enrollment form and send it to us with a $1500 deposit by either check or credit card. A copy of your child’s registration form was already mailed to all returning families so you don’t even have to do much work. Our office has moved, so please send all mail to the following address from now on:

Island Lake Camp PO Box 228 Chappaqua, NY 10514

Our early rates run through September 15th so take advantage of these prices and avoid getting closed out later on. Cancellations can be made through December 1st and we will refund all of your money less the $250 enrollment fee. Remember, there is a rate increase on September 15th.

Well, those three torturous words, “Back To School,” have already become a reality for many of our campers who are stuck behind a school desk, daydreaming about their Island Lake experience. We wish you all a wonderful and healthy school year. Our campers can now start their countdown until next summer when we can all be reunited in Starrucca, PA once again! As of September 1st, we have only 301 days until ILC U THERE!

Hey ILC parents! This is it! Summer is just about here and we are happy to report that we are back at camp once again! Words cannot even begin to explain how wonderful it feels to return to our home away from home. We are sooooo EXCITED for your children’s arrival on Saturday, June 23rd. We have amazing plans for this summer including exciting evening activities, an awesome Color War theme, a day trip to Dorney Park, a teen trip to Toronto and Niagara Falls in session 2, fun-filled theme days, and much more. Let us just say, we have some awesome plans to make summer 2018 the GREATEST, and we cannot wait to share it all with your children!

Summer 2018 parents, have you filled out your forms yet? Please make sure we have received your children’s Profile and Medical Forms. You can fill out the Profile Form directly online by logging into your CampMinder account. The Medical Form is not an online form so you and your pediatrician must fill out the hard copy that we mailed to you a few months back. If you misplaced it just click “Forms & Mailings” in the “Families” section of our website to download a new one. We must have one for each child prior his/her arrival at camp.

Don’t forget that by registering with CampMinder you can send emails to your children and view our daily summer photos and weekly videos. We will be posting daily blogs right here on our website once your children arrive at camp. Additionally, we will continue to tweet daily and post short video clips on our Facebook page as often as possible. With so much info for our parents, you will also feel as if you are experiencing a fun-filled summer here at Island Lake!

Now that we are back at camp, be sure to mail any outstanding payments and forms directly to our summer address in Starrucca, PA. Do not use the New York return envelopes any longer, as that mail takes quite some time to be forwarded to us at camp.

Well, that’s about it for now! We look forward to meeting many of our new families at our OPEN HOUSE here at camp on Saturday, June 9th, at 11am. We cannot wait to see the rest of our Island Lakers shortly afterwards! Below are some photos of our pre-camp staff working hard to beautify Island Lake. ILC U THERE!!!

Hey Island Lake Families! Wow, how did May sneak up on us so quickly? With spring in the air, excitement is building and summer 2018 is right around the corner! Yay! We will be moving up to camp over Memorial Weekend, so as of May 29th all correspondence should go directly to our summer address.

If your child is enrolled for summer 2018 at Island Lake, please be sure to fill out his/her Profile and Transportation Forms right here on our website. All forms were due on May 1st. If you haven’t yet taken care of these forms (whoopsie!), please do so right now. Just click the “CampMinder Login” on our homepage and enter your email address and password. If you have not yet created a CampMinder account, click “First Time Users- Create Account” and follow the directions.

It is imperative that we have a Medical Form on file for every child attending Island Lake this summer. The Medical Form cannot be filled out online so please be sure to fill out the form mailed to your home and return it to us as soon as possible. If misplaced, click the following link for a copy: http://www.islandlake.com/pdf/2018/Medical-Form-2018.pdf.

The form is located on our website under “Island Lake Families” then “Forms & Mailings.” As a reminder, you can mail it to our NY winter office until late May. After May 22nd please mail your Medical Form to our summer address at camp.

Attention all new Island Lake families! By now you should have received your “Spring Mailing” in the postal mail. Enclosed in this mailing are your Parent Handbook, Camper Handbook, Activities Handbook, Medication Policy letter, Travel Itinerary, as well as a flyer about our online photos, videos, & emails. For all returning ILC families, these handbooks and flyers are available for you on our website under “Island Lake Families” and “Forms & Mailings.” Whether you are returning or are new to the Island Lake family, please make sure you and your children take a few minutes to sit down and read this spring mailing thoroughly, as we always add new information.

Are you a returning parent who has not yet signed up your child for this upcoming summer at ILC? If so, please, please, please do not put it off any longer. Some of our bunks are now completely full. We truly do not want to turn away any of our devoted campers! If you don’t have a registration form handy, click “Island Lake Families” at the top of the page, then click “Forms & Mailings” and print the “2018 Enrollment Form.” You can mail or fax it directly to our NY office until the end of May, after which it can be sent to our summer address at camp. For faster enrollment, you can simply scan/email the registration form to us at info@islandlake.com.

To all current Island Lake families, we look forward to an amazing summer 2018 with your children!!! To all prospective families, feel free to contact us if you have any questions after browsing our website: 914-769-6060 (as of May 29th contact us at 570-798-2550). And last but not least, to one and all…. ILC U THERE! (very very soon!)

Hey ILC families! Wow, how did April sneak up on us so quickly? With spring in the air, excitement is building and summer 2018 is right around the corner. As of April 1st, we have only 84 daysuntil camp begins! Woohoo!!! We will be moving our offices up to camp over Memorial Weekend so as of May 28th all correspondence should go directly to our summer address in Starrucca, PA.

If your child is already enrolled for summer 2018, please be sure to fill out your Profile and Transportation Forms here on our website. Just click the “CampMinder Login” link on our homepage and you will be prompted to enter your email address and password. First time users can click “First Time Users – Create Account” below the login link. If your child is a returning camper, we suggest you use the same password that you used last summer to access our daily photos and send emails. You will then have access to the Profile and Transportation Forms. The Medical Form is not in CampMinder so please be sure to fill out and complete the form that was enclosed with your March newsletter. You can also download our Medical Form here by clicking “Island Lake Families” at the top of this website and then “Forms & Mailings” on the left side of the page. We have many important forms there for you to print out and use as a guide for packing and what not.

As a reminder to all of our summer 2018 families, please be sure to read our monthly newsletters. The newsletters provide lots of information important to your child’s upcoming summer. Our newsletter link is located right here on our website (“Island Lake Families” and then “ILC News”), and you will also receive your very own hard copy of our newsletter at the start of each month in the mail.

In early May we will be posting a great deal of additional info on our website. This will include a camper handbook, parent handbook, activities handbook, our medication policy, information about emailing your child, viewing photos and videos on the web, and lots of other important camp information. Please be sure to read through it all, as there will be tons of important info for you, the parents, as well as your child.

Have you registered your child for this upcoming summer? If not and you plan to do so, please, please, please do not put it off any longer. We truly do not want to turn away any of our devoted campers. It only takes a few minutes to fill out the registration form and send it in to our NY office. If you don’t have one handy, click “Island Lake Families” and then “Forms & Mailings” to the left of the page and print the “2018 Enrollment Form”.

Well, that’s about it for now. Enjoy your navigation through our site checking out all of our fun-filled activities and smiling faces. Island Lake Camp offers a program that furthers your child’s growth, independence, and sense of decision-making while simultaneously giving them the responsibility to create their own exciting summer.

To all current Island Lake families, we look forward to an amazing summer 2018 with your children. To all prospective families, feel free to contact us if you have any questions after browsing our website: 800-869-6083 or 914-769-6060. And last but not least, to all,…ILC U THERE!

Happy March to our Island Lake families! Our summer 2018 countdown has kicked into gear and lucky for us, summer, and for that matter camp, will approach before we know it. 114 more days as of March 1st! Wow, we’re almost at the double-digit mark!

Any day now all summer 2018 families should receive a letter regarding forms, a Medical Form, as well as your monthly newsletter. Both a parent and a physician, as required by Pennsylvania law, must complete the Medical Form. On our website we have TONS of information to prepare you and your children for this summer. There are forms online that we request you fill out promptly via your CampMinder account. The Profile Form helps us guide your children when they choose their activities and put together their schedules. The Transportation Form lets us know which bus your children will be taking to camp. If we do not receive the Transportation Form in our office by May 1st, we will have to assign a bus to your children. In June, we will send you detailed information on the bus locations, along with luggage tags that you will use to mark your children’s bags. Shortly you will be able to access all of our other forms on our website at islandlake.com and then clicking “Island Lake Families,” and “Forms & Mailings.”

A reminder to our summer ‘17 and ’18 families, don’t forget to read our monthly newsletters. You can access them here on our website or at the start of every month in your mailbox in hard copy form. The newsletters provide important information for parents, as well as campers, including enrollment and availability updates.

Speaking of enrollment, if you haven’t yet registered your child for summer 2018 but plan to do so, please, please, please do not put it off any longer. We truly do not want to turn away any of our devoted campers and it’s very difficult for us when forced to do so every year. Don’t let that happen to your child. Some bunks are already full! It only takes a few minutes to fill out the registration form, we promise! If you don’t have one handy, click “Island Lake Families”, “Forms & Mailings” and then print the “2018 Enrollment Form”.

To all current Island Lake families, we look forward to an amazing summer 2018 with your children. To all prospective families, feel free to contact us if you have any questions after browsing our website: 800-869-6083 or 914-769-6060. And last but not least, to one and all…. ILC U THERE!

Happy February to our Island Lake Families! As we sit here in our winter office looking at the snow outside of our windows, it feels as though summer 2017 was all a distant dream. However, our summer 2018 countdown has already kicked into gear and lucky for us, camp will sneak up on us before we know it. 142 days to go as of February 1st!

We are busy preparing for our big trip that we are offering to all of our oldest campers this upcoming summer. We’re excited for our annual 4 day/3 night TEEN TRIP in our 2nd session to TORONTO & NIAGARA FALLS! This amazing trip will be offered to all campers entering 9th grade and higher. Keep an eye on your mailbox (actual mailbox, not virtual one) for more details to arrive real soon for this fun-filled experience. There will be an enrollment form for you to fill out and return to us at our winter office. We also have info regarding this trip in our monthly newsletters. We will visit the CN Tower, Canada’s Wonderland Amusement Park, the Hockey Hall of Fame, we’ll go Jet Boating, and of course, experience Niagara Falls, both during the day and at night! So,…much,…FUN!!!

A reminder to our summer ‘17 and ’18 families; don’t forget to read our monthly newsletters. You can access them here on our website (“Island Lake Families” and then “ILC News”) as well as in your postal mailbox at the start of every month. Our newsletters provide important information for parents as well as campers, including enrollment and availability updates.

Speaking of enrollment, if you have not yet registered your child for summer 2018 but plan to do so, please, please, please do not put it off any longer. Some bunks are now completely full. We truly do not want to turn away loyal campers so let’s avoid that from happening. You can register your child with the registration form mailed to you with your newsletter or you can download the form here on our website under “Island Lake Families” and then “Forms & Mailings”. It only takes a few minutes to fill out the registration form, we promise!

To all current Island Lake families, we look forward to an amazing summer 2018 with your children. To all prospective families, feel free to contact us if you have any questions after browsing our website: 914-769-6060. And last but not least, to one and all,…ILC U THERE!

Happy New Year! All of us at Island Lake hope you had a wonderful holiday season filled with love, happiness, presents, and lots to reminiscence about your children’s wonderful memories of their 2017 ILC experiences. As we sit here in our winter office with the chill outside, it feels as though summer 2017 is a distant, yet fond, memory. Our countdown for summer 2018 has already kicked into gear and our opening day of camp will be here before we know it. Words cannot even describe our excitement for summer 2018 to get here already! 173 days until camp begins (as of January 1st)!

Our camp reunion on November 18th was a huge success! Screams of excitement filled the air as campers and staff embraced one another. We had a fantastic turnout, including children and counselors who flew in from other parts of the country just to see their camp friends. The reunion never seems to last long enough. Time flies when we’re having fun catching up with many of our Island Lakers. Check out our reunion photos posted right here on the homepage of our website, on our Facebook page, as well as here on our blog.

We’re busy planning for our annual 2nd session TEEN TRIP, which this summer will be to Toronto & Niagara Falls, Canada. This trip will be offered to all campers entering 9th grade and higher. Check out more details in your January newsletter and if you have any additional questions, feel free to give us a call. The enrollment forms and details for this trip will be mailed out shortly to all who are eligible to take advantage of this fun-filled experience.

A reminder to our summer ‘17 and ’18 families; don’t forget to read our monthly newsletters! You can access them right here on our website, as well as in your postal mailbox at the start of every month. Our newsletters provide important information for parents as well as campers, including enrollment and availability updates. Here’s a direct link to the newsletters on our website: https://www.islandlake.com/current-camp-families/island-lake-newsletter.php

Speaking of enrollment, if you have not yet registered your children for summer 2018 but plan to do so, please, please, please do not put it off any longer. Some of our bunks are now completely full. We truly do not want to turn away loyal campers, so let’s avoid that from happening. You can register your children with the enrollment forms mailed to you with your newsletter or you can download the form here on our website under “Island Lake Families” and then “Forms & Mailings” (on the left-hand side of the page). It only takes a few minutes to fill out the enrollment form, we promise!

To all current and new Island Lake families, we look forward to an amazing summer 2018 with your children. To all previous or prospective families, feel free to contact us if you have any questions after browsing our website: 800-869-6083 or 914-769-6060. And last but not least, all of us here at Island Lake wish you, our campers, parents, and staff, a very Happy & Healthy New Year!!! ILC U THERE!!!

Hey Island Lake families! We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. With winter just about here, it is our hope that your children still have “camp on the brain,” and continue to share their wonderful ILC summer 2017 memories with you. Our countdown for next summer has already kicked into gear and opening day of camp will emerge upon us before we know it. As of December 1st, only 204 days until summer 2017 at Island Lake will be here!

Our camp reunion on November 18th at Sportime USA was a huge success! Screams of excitement filled the air as campers and staff embraced one another. We had a fantastic turnout, including children who flew in from other parts of the country just to see their camp friends. Pretty cool, huh? The reunion never seems to last long enough. Time flies when we’re having fun catching up with many of our Island Lakers. Check out our reunion photos posted our website’s home page as well as on our Facebook page. Below is a sneak peak at some of our smiling faces.

By now all of our summer 2017 camp families should have received an email with a link to our amazing ILC video yearbook located online on Vimeo. If you need another copy of the link, feel free to contact us at info@islandlake.com and we’d be happy to help you out. We hope you and your children have taken the opportunity to watch this super fun video yearbook filled with many exciting summer activities and memories. For an hour, you can forget about all that’s going on around you to truly feel a part of the ILC experience. We hear some children have been watching it on loop over and over again!

Reminders to all families, returning and new, don’t forget to read our monthly newsletters. They are located right here on our website, as well as in your regular postal mailbox at the start of every month. Our newsletters provide important information for you, including enrollment and availability updates. If you’d like to read our newsletter on our website, you can simply go to islandlake.com, click “Island Lake Families” at the top of the page, and then “ILC News” on the left-hand side of the page. You can also click the following link to view our newsletters since summer: https://www.islandlake.com/current-camp-families/island-lake-newsletter.php

Speaking of enrollment, if you have not yet registered your children for summer 2018 but plan to do so, please, please, please do not put it off any longer. Some bunks are now completely full. We truly do not want to turn away our loyal campers, so let’s avoid that from happening. You can register your children with the registration form mailed to you with your monthly newsletter or you can download the form here on our website under “Island Lake Families” and then “Forms & Mailings”.

With all of the winter cheer around us, we wish you and your families a spectacular holiday season! Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and a happy and healthy New Year to all! ILC U THERE in 2018!